BREATHE FOR ME

Chapter 22: New York, New York

"So... You and Lorrie are officially boyfriend and girlfriend now?" May asks as we squish up uncomfortably against each other in bed.

Dad's new, little apartment is in Brooklyn and by the time we get in, it's already two o'clock in the morning. Thanks a lot New York traffic. Although it is small, the apartment does seem to fit us all in. Maddie, May and I have the spare room and are sharing the king sized bed with a squeeze. The boys, however, have the lounge, which is proving to be amusing. Lorrie, having dibs, is sleeping on the long couch, whilst Esidore is sleeping on a camp bed in front of the fire place, and Teddy is sleeping on an airbed, under the dining room table. Once the beds were set up and all of the boys were tucked into them, we girls spent a good few minutes giggling at their close-contact sleeping arrangements, earning a lot of sardonic looks from the three of them.

Now, almost an hour later, the three of us are squashed up against each other, trying not to move too much otherwise Maddie will most likely fall out of the bed. It's not ideal, but it is definitely memorable and a lot of giggling has commenced over the past sixty minutes that we've been tucked in, making the experience quite enjoyable if not a little uncomfortable.

"That's the thing." I whisper back to a curious looking May and Maddie. "I'm not actually sure. I've told him that he has to ask me. He's pretty old school and I like that. But we've been too busy to talk about the details of it all."

"You know, Lorrie has never dated a girl from school before. I don't think I've actually seen him hang out with any girl before, other than us lot in the group. He must like you an awful lot Gen." May replies, giving me a cheeky nudge.

"I hope so, because I definitely like him an awful lot."

"Have you said the L-word yet?" Maddie whispers, pushing herself further against me so that she doesn't hang off the end of the bed.

"No, we've had a bit of a complicated start and plus, we aren't even boyfriend and girlfriend yet. I don't think." I reply, shoving myself over onto May a little so Maddie can get in more. May bursts into a fit of giggles. "It's a bit soon for the L-word."

"Have you and Teddy?" May chips in, extending her neck so that she can see Maddie over me.

"Um..." Maddie replies, releasing a cheeky grin.

"No way!" May and I say in unison.

"Shh! They're just next door. Jeez guys." Maddie flaps her arms, trying to get us to quieten down. Instead, she only encourages us to laugh more, giving the pair of us the giggles. She looks like a panicking duck. "Oh I give up." She says, chuckling as the pair of us continue to drown in our own giggles.

After a few moments, I force myself to stop laughing by taking some long breaths. I then wipe my eyes of their tears of laughter and put my hand on Maddie's arm. Time to be a good sister.

"That's such good news Mads." I say, giving her a smile. "Teddy is the best, and he makes you happy."

"Yeh, he does." She says, reciprocating my smile. "I really do love him."

"Aww." May says, rolling over so that she's facing the white-painted roof. By doing so, I struggle to not push Maddie out of the bed. I have to sink between their bodies, carrying both of their weights. Great. "You guys make me want a boyfriend so badly."

"Then get one." I respond, giving her a nudge. "It's not like you can't. Look at yourself."

"Well I've got to say, that Esidore is something else entirely. I wish that there was one of him at our school. He looks like a beautiful, darker version of Captain America."